


The Lighting of a Fire

by Tito11



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-12-15 03:45:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tito11/pseuds/Tito11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.</p><p> </p><p>Introducing Nix and Dick’s closer-than-friends-should-be relationship, the Dike problem, Lipton as the school’s favorite teacher, and the Academic Bowl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own, mean no disrespect. Also, um, I realize Speirs isn't actually even in this chapter, but never fear, he'll make his appearance soon.

Nix’s favorite part of his job as the office manager, apart from the fact that he can sometimes go out for a drink over lunch, is that he’s literally right outside Dick’s office. When Dick was still teaching, they’d have to meet between classes and during free periods if they wanted to see each other at all during work. Now, though, Dick just keeps his door open unless he’s got someone in there -- he likes to be approachable, but he’s also very protective of students’ privacy. And if sometimes Nix wishes Dick would take him into the office and close the door, well, that’s probably just some kind of side effect of his days at a strict boarding school. But the point is, Nix gets to see Dick almost all day and that, that is the very best part of his job.

Today, though, the door’s closed. Dike’s in there, but the walls are pretty solid, so Nix can’t hear what’s being said. He can make a few educated guesses, though, because Nix is the one that’s been taking parents’ calls of complaint about Dike’s shitty teaching. Dick’s probably telling him off as forcefully as he can without making things worse. Everyone knows Dike’s got friends on the school board, but Dick really cares about the students, so they’re probably pretty evenly matched. Unless Nix is willing to listen with his ear pressed to the door, though, the specifics of the conversation are beyond his knowledge.

Nix is still listening intently at the crack of Dick’s office door when Lipton comes in to get his mail a few minutes later.

“Hey Nix,” he says, flipping through his letters and memos. “Who’s in trouble now?”

Nix sighs and straightens up, making his way back over to his desk. He hasn't been able to make out much of the conversation, anyway.   
“Dike again,” he says and collapses into his wheelie chair. “Third time this month, but it never does any good. We all know he’s going to just keep doing what he’s does best- standing in front of the class with a blank look on his face and assigning chapters to read instead of lecturing.”

Lip nods sympathetically. “I've had a lot of complaints, too. Apparently the last few tests he gave were incredibly difficult. I've offered to help kids study, but apart from that, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Dick’s getting a lot of pressure from parents about it, too, but his hands are tied. If Dike weren't so busy kissing the school board’s collective asses, maybe he’d have more time for his lesson plans.”

Lipton huffs a laugh. “That’s pretty much the impression I've gotten, yes. Well, anyway, I've got lunch duty in ten, but I’ll let you know if I hear anything especially incriminating from the kids.”

He gives a bit of a wave as he goes out, leaving Nix to watch the clock and play a rousing game of solitaire. One of his student aides should be in soon, and then he and Dick have lunch plans.

When Dick’s door finally opens, not ten minutes later, Dike ambles out fairly quickly. Presumably he’s in a hurry to go stare at students blankly when asked a question, or maybe he’s going to call his friends on the board and complain about the harassment he’s being subjected to. Nix watches him go, then turns to see Dick leaning heavily against the door frame. They stare at each other for a moment, in the way they sometimes do that Nix is sure means something important. Then Dick gives him a weary smile. 

“Lunch?” he asks, and Nix is definitely on board with that. He takes a minute to write a quick note to Grant about what needs photocopied while he’s out and grabs his wallet. 

“After you.”

 

Lunch duty isn't the worst part of Carwood's day, but it’s not exactly fun, either. It’s a seniority thing, he knows. Carwood's only twenty-five, three years out of college and the youngest teacher in the faculty. That means he gets the jobs no one wants: detention, lunch duty, locker room patrol, you name it. He doesn't mind, really. It gives him the opportunity to bond with the kids, and that’s something he wouldn't give up for anything. It does, however, mean that he has to deal with a lot of minor disputes.

Today, it’s Guarnere and Liebgott. Carwood isn't sure what they’re fighting about, because neither of them will say, but he managed to intervene before any punches were thrown. It’s a plus, because it means he probably won’t have to write a report and can let them off with a warning instead of detention. He likes these kids, really. They mostly trust him, which is great, but he also commands a certain amount of respect, enough that neither of them will look him in the eye right now.

“Last chance, guys,” he says, not unkindly. He was a student himself, not so long ago and knows that being too rough won’t get the kind of response he wants. “What happened out there?”

“Nothing, Mr. Lipton,” Joe says.

“We were just messing around,” Bill adds.

They call him “Mr. Lipton” when they’re in trouble, not “Lip” like he sometimes gets in class or during after-school tutoring. He lets them get away with it because he knows they’ll listen to him when it really matters, like in detention or on test days. It would be nice, though, if they were a bit more forthcoming in this exact moment. The bell rings and he sighs.

“All right. You guys can get to class, but I’d better not see any more fighting from you two. Tell your friends to knock it off, too. Principal Winters has too much to deal with right now without having to handle a bunch of knuckleheads having a catfight in the cafeteria.”

They both smile at the catfight comment but get gone pretty quickly. Carwood knows it has more to do with not being late for class than any fear of God he might have put into them. Still, he knows them well enough to say they won’t be in any other fights this week, and Carwood feels pretty good about that.

 

Over lunch, Dick vents his frustration about Dike. As a rule, Dick doesn't talk to people about the problems that come with his job as acting-principal. He’d always been closed lipped about any sort of complaining, afraid it would bring shame upon the school or the teaching profession, or some bullshit like that. Even when he was facing down a suspension from Principal Sobel (before the entire faculty threatening to strike had gotten Sobel removed), Dick never complained. Now especially, though, when Dick is the public face of the school, Nix is the only one he can talk to about these things. Nix can’t deny there’s a part of him that glows a little under Dick’s trust in him.

“The school board just isn't going to let me replace Dike because I've gotten a few complaints about him,” Dick says. “And even if they would, who would I bring in to teach those classes? We've got a few substitutes that could, theoretically, but none of them are a good fit. Shames thinks he’s a drill sergeant and has to yell at the students to get anything done. And Peacock, well, no one tries harder, but he’s just not cut out to teach.”

Nix nods along. He’s seen each of the subs in action and it hadn't been pretty. “What about Compton?” he asks. Compton’s really the only good teacher of the bunch and Nix calls him in more often than the others if he can help it.

“Compton’s the only real choice. Buck’s a great teacher, but you know he hasn't been the same since his wife left him. And besides, he’s been talking about taking a job with a different district. Not that it matters, anyway, because I can’t fire Dike.”

He has a point, certainly, but he’s also got a bias that Nix feels compelled to point out. “We all know who you want to be teaching the English classes, Dick, but that’s not your job anymore. You have to find someone.”

Dick sighs and nods, turns the conversation to things not related to work. “How’s Kathy, anyway?”

Nix winces and thinks about pretending he hasn’t heard the question. Dick smirks at him knowingly. “She wants to get a dog,” Nix admits, finally. “She hates dogs, but she wants to get one. I think she’s trying to con me into setting down to play Happy Families.”

Dick laughs at that, and it’s so nice to hear that Nix can almost forget his girlfriend troubles and just bask in being with his best friend. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” he says, dryly, “because when she kicks me out again, I’m going to sleep in your bed and you can take the floor.”

That sets Dick off again, but he calms down after a while to say, “Don’t be ridiculous, Lew. It’s a big bed; we can share.” It’s a mark of how close they are that Nix doesn't read into it in a sexual manner. Well, he mostly doesn't. And if there’s a tiny part of him that thinks of all the things they could do together in Dick’s bed, he’s managed to put it out of his mind by the time lunch is over.

 

Three days after Guarnere and Liebgott’s fight, Carwood is helping Luz with his geometry homework, explaining sine and cosine again, when he hears a knock on his door and looks up to see Dike, completely out of breath.

“Mr. Lipton,” he pants, “I need you to watch my class while I make an emergency phone call.” Carwood thinks of refusing for a moment. It’s not a request, more like an order, and Carwood is actually in the middle of something. But then he thinks of how much trouble a room full of students left alone can cause and he stands, gesturing for Luz to do the same. 

As soon as he sees the movement, Dike’s turning and bolting down the hallway. Carwood really doesn't want to know the kind of situation Norman Dike considers an emergency. “Come on, George,” he says, keeping his irritation out of his voice. “Let’s go continue this in the English room.”

The room, when they get there, is as Carwood expected: students out of their seats, yelling and screaming. Skip Muck is in Dike’s chair, feet up on the desk, getting dirt on his papers. “Hey, Lip!” he calls when he spots Carwood. “I didn't know you taught this class.”

The shouting dies down a bit when he enters, and Carwood’s relieved when most of the kids return to their own seats, or at least someone’s seat – he doesn't have the seating chart and he doesn't much care either, as long as everyone’s sitting. He shoos Muck back out of Dike’s chair and directs Luz to pull another chair up next to it.

“Obviously, I’m not Mr. Dike,” he tells the class, when it’s mostly quiet. “However, he had an emergency he needed to deal with, so I’m here instead. He didn't leave me any instructions, so I’m going to declare this a study hall. You can do your homework or talk quietly, but I need to be able to work with Luz here, so it’d better actually be quietly. And yeah, Malarkey, I’m looking at you.”

The boy in question laughs, but Carwood knows he won’t cause any real problems. He doesn't know why, but most of the time, students are pretty well behaved for him. Kids can be little terrors, he knows, having seen them in action, but this group of kids in particular has a special place in his heart. The fact that so many of them are on the Academic Bowl team probably has something to do with it. 

The Academic Bowl team had been Dick’s idea, originally, when he first started teaching here. Carwood helped with the team last year as an assistant coach, but this year he’s going to be on his own. Dick doesn't have time these days for extra projects, and a principal coaching a team would be highly irregular, anyway. Most of the kids will be the same, though. Bull Randleman, Skip, Malarkey, Luz, and Frank Perconte are all definite. There are probably a few new recruits he can wrangle, too, some maybe even in this English class.

“All right, Luz,” Carwood says, eventually, finished with his survey of the room, “Let’s get back to work.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.
> 
> Dike finally does something inexcusable, Speirs has feels, Nix and Dick have dinner, and Carwood meets Dike’s replacement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, before writing this chapter, I discovered Blue Bloods, in which Sgt. Donnie is just fabulous. He’s really rough in it, though, more than Lip usually is, so if Lip seems kind of soft here, it’s just me overcompensating.

The day Dike really, truly messes up is the day of the Annual District-Wide Poetry Reading. It’s not a difficult field trip, really, but it is tradition and has been for four years, ever since Dick started the thing in his first year at the school. It’s a day when all the schools in the district bring their junior literature classes together and allow them to hear local poets read their work aloud. It’s one of Dick’s finest contributions to the school, he thinks. Nix disagrees, but Nix is something of a philistine, so that’s not unexpected. It’s also not unexpected that Dike manages to mess up, but that doesn’t mean Dick’s not livid when he finds out.

The thing is, Dick went over the whole thing with Dike at least three times. The host school this year is only two towns over. All Dike had to do was take two headcounts- one before leaving the school and one before coming back- and keep the kids under control during the reading. Dike had seemed to understand all that, nodding along and yawning in that way he does. So it’s beyond Dick, really, how the man managed to leave five of his students behind.

Dick gets the call at 2:15, fifteen minutes before the school day is over. The bus with all the kids is supposed to be back by that point so that those kids who take busses home can catch them. That’s what it said in the permission form and that’s what needs to be done. It’s going to be a close call, probably, but he’s not worried. That is, until Nix pages him on the intercom with a terse, “Dick, there’s an emergency on line one for you.” 

Nix sounds worried, and that’s what really catches Dick’s attention. Emergencies in the generally-accepted definition of the word tend to amuse Nix. If Nix is concerned, it’s probably reason enough to panic. But panicking never helps anything, so Dick takes a deep breath and picks up his phone.

“Dick Winters,” he says, calmly.

“Principal Winters?” The voice on the other end is young, almost definitely a student. He can’t tell who it is, but they sound pretty upset.

“Yes?” He pitches his voice low, soothing. “How can I help you?”

“Um, this is Popeye Wynn. I’m real sorry, sir, but we were at the, the poetry reading today and now we’ve been left behind and I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to get left behind but the bus was just gone and now we can’t get home.”

It’s exactly what Dick doesn’t want to hear. He doesn’t even know how this could have happened. Everything in him wants to grab his keys and run for his car, but he knows that isn’t going to work. Another plan is already forming in his mind, though. “All right, Popeye. Calm down. Everything’s going to be okay. How many of you are there and where are you specifically?”

“There’s five of us, sir. We’re in the auditorium, still.”

“Okay, that’s fine. I’m going to hang up now and I’m going to call the main office of the school. Someone is going to come find you guys and stay with you while I arrange for you to be picked up. I’m going to need you guys to just stay put, okay?”

“Yes, sir. We can do that, sir.” Popeye sounds relieved rather than on the verge of tears, so that’s one problem taken care of, at least.

Dick hangs up and clicks the intercom. “Nix,” he says, and hopes his voice conveys his urgency. “I’m going to need the number for the main office of Douglas MacArthur High School.”

Nix relays it within a minute. The other school’s principal sounds pretty incredulous about the whole thing, but promises to send one his teachers to find the kids, so that’s two problems down. Now the only thing left to do is arrange for someone to go pick them up. Dick knows just the man for the job.

 

Carwood gets called out of his class with five minutes until the last bell. It’s slightly odd, but Nix sounded pretty tense on the phone, so he just puts Foley in charge of the class and heads down to the office, where Nix ushers him straight into Dick’s office. He steps inside and is shocked to see Dick full-out yelling at Dike. It’s odd, to say the least, because Carwood’s never heard Dick even raise his voice before. Dike’s pale and shaky, but there’s something blank in his eyes, too, like he’s not really in the room. 

When Dick sees Carwood, he breaks off, mid-sentence and switches gears almost immediately.

“Lipton,” he says, and he’s not shouting anymore, but he still sounds angry beyond belief. “I need you to take one of the school vans to MacArthur. Five of our students have been left there without supervision and must be brought home as soon as possible. This is an emergency.”

He doesn’t explain the circumstances that brought about five kids being left alone at another school, but Carwood’s heard his kids talking excitedly about the poetry field trip all week. He can put the pieces together easily enough. “Yes, sir,” he says and hurries off to the bus garage. The bus mechanics seem to have been informed of his mission, because there’s a van already out and ready by the time he gets there.

Carwood doesn’t exactly break the speed limit getting to MacArthur, but he cuts it pretty close. He can just imagine how those poor kids feel, all alone at a school that isn’t theirs with people they don’t know. Still, though, as bad as this situation is, some good of it might come in the long run. The school board can’t just ignore Dike’s faults, not now that he’s done something like this. Surely they’ll have to bring someone else in to finish the year. Maybe Principal Winters will even get some say in it, this time. 

 

Children always fidget when he looks directly at them, Ron knows, especially for an extended period of time. These children, the ones who were left behind by their incompetent teacher, they’re especially fidgety. It’s nerves, probably. Ron doesn’t get them, often, but he knows most people feel them all the time, especially in unknown situations like the one these kids are in. One of them tried to defuse the situation by beginning a conversation about the poetry reading, but he broke off into nervous giggles after Ron watched him for long enough. He’d even smiled at the kid, but that made things worse, just like it always does.

The children are all silent and scared by the time their teacher hurries in. He’s not the lazy, stupid teacher Ron had made note of during the reading. He’s someone else, someone new, and the first thing he does is check up on each of the kids, talking to them all in turn. He even actually listens to their answers. This man cares, Ron can tell.

He does feel something, then, but it’s not nervousness. Instead, it’s the dark, aching want that happens sometimes. The man is undoubtedly attractive, though Ron’s seen better, but that’s not what makes him desirable. It’s probably his smile that does it. When he’s sure the children are all okay, he smiles at them, and it’s so sweet and soft that Ron can’t help but to want it for himself. This man cares about these children. It’s been a long, long time since someone looked at him that way.

When he’s done with the kids, the man comes to stand in front of Ron. His eyes are very nice: gentle, like the rest of him. The scar running across his cheek should make him look rugged, but even that seems soft. “Carwood Lipton,” he says, holding out a hand for Ron to shake. 

Ron takes it. “Speirs,” he says, curtly, the only way he knows how.

Carwood (and it’s a nice name, too) smiles at Ron. It’s a polite smile, not the same as the caring one he’d given the kids, but it’s still so very soft. “Thank you, Mr. Speirs. I really appreciate you looking out for these guys. We have to get back, but seriously, thank you.”

Then he leaves. He smiles and nods and leaves, taking the fidgeting children with him. Except, they’re not fidgeting anymore, and Ron knows why. Anyone who’s in the presence of a man like that would never need to fidget.

 

Nix waits an extra half-hour for Dick to be done with his meeting with Sink, the head of the school board. He could be at home by now, he knows. Dick knows how to lock up after himself. He’s even done it on occasion. But they have dinner plans, and nothing gets in the way of dinner with Dick.

Sink’s a tough bastard, to be sure, but he’s fair. He knows that this kind of fuck-up can’t go unpunished. There’s no way in hell the school board will be able to keep Dike on after this afternoon, no matter what kind of connections he has. As soon as this meeting’s over and the termination of Dike’s contract has been finalized, Nix is going to make some very satisfying phone calls. After dinner, obviously.

Finally, finally, Sink storms out of the room. Nix would hold the door for him, but, well, he’s off the clock. It’s just as well, anyway, because Sink doesn’t even look at him, just trumps off to have what’s probably going to be a very difficult discussion with the rest of the board. Nix watches him go, mostly amused but a little bit pitying, too. Sink’s not too a bad guy, really.  
When he looks back, Dick is leaning against his office door. It’s a position Nix has come to associate with hard days at the office. Hopefully, with Dike gone, there’ll be less of those. “Come on,” he says, grabbing for his coat. “Let’s get Chinese.”

 

Nix would never guess it, if he didn’t know, but Dick is actually really fond of spicy foods. It doesn’t suit his temperament or his complexion, but it’s true. Every time they get Chinese food, Dick gets the hottest, most spicy dish they have. His face always flushes, too, when he eats it. He’s a real sight, with his eyes closed in bliss and his cheeks tinged red. It’s the kind of face he’d probably make in bed. He’s probably a fox in bed, too, Nix thinks. He doesn’t know, obviously, but that’s just the kind of thing best friends can tell about each other. He clears his throat and looks away from Dick’s face. He can feel his own face flush a bit, but that’s just from the General Tso’s.

“Dike’s definitely gone, then?” He asks. They can’t go a meal without talking about work, but Dick lives and breathes the place and Nix wouldn’t even get out of bed if he didn’t have Dick’s passions driving him.

Dick swallows his mouthful of rice, because he’s polite and would never talk with his mouth full. “Definitely. Sink confirmed in the meeting. I just can’t believe he left those kids there. Their parents probably had kittens. You’d better be prepared to take complaints for the next few days.”

“I’m always taking complaints, Dick. I’ve taken at least two complaints a day about Dike since the school year started. It’ll be worth this shitstorm just to get rid of him.”

“You haven’t even heard who’s replacing him yet,” Dick says, with one of his rare mischievous smiles. “You just wait. You’ll be fielding calls from now until May over this appointment.”

That’s pretty ominous, honestly, but Nix knows Dick. The man cares about the kids at school. He won’t do anything that might hurt them, no matter what his smile might suggest. Still, a mystery kills Nix and he spends the rest of the evening trying to get the name out of Dick. Dick’s frustratingly close-lipped, though, and by the time Nix is home, alone, in his bed, he still doesn’t know who Dike’s replacement is.

 

Carwood gets to school early the next morning. He’s supposed to monitor two morning detentions Shames had given out while he was covering Dike’s classes yesterday. They’re probably baseless, but it’s good policy for Principal Winters to back teachers up when they punish students, especially with something as minor as detention. 

He drops his bag off in his room, then decides he has enough time to grab coffee in the teacher’s lounge before the kids show up. Carwood remembers a time when he didn’t drink coffee, but that was before he had to deal with things like morning detention or Norman Dike. By this point, it’s a necessity. The school coffee always tastes slightly burnt, but he grabs a mug, anyway, and pours himself a cup. He’s just about to take a sip when he hears a quiet sound behind him and turns.

It’s the man, the one from yesterday. Speirs, Carwood thinks. He’s watching Carwood with the same intense stare he had yesterday, the one the kids had told him he’d worn the entire time they’d waited for him to show up. It’s a scary look, no doubt about it, but there’s also something in it that makes Carwood pause. Something behind the man’s eyes.

“Hi,” he says, at last, when the man doesn’t speak. “Coffee?”

Speirs nods and brushes past Carwood to get to the machine. He grabs a mug and pours, brings it to his mouth mechanically. He doesn’t even seem to mind that it’s still steaming. Once he takes a sip, he goes back to staring at Carwood.

Another awkward, silent minute passes, where they both stare at each other and drink coffee. Eventually, Carwood realizes he’s going to be late for detention. “I have to go,” he says, apologetically, though he doesn’t even know what he’s apologizing for. “I’ll see you later.” He grabs a quick refill and leaves the room. When he glances back, once he’s in the hallway, the man’s still watching him, silent and staring.

When he reflects on it later, while the kids in detention are doing homework, he realizes the man must just be shy. He never said and Carwood never asked, but he’s probably here as a substitute, today. He’ll be gone by tomorrow and Carwood will never have to have such an awkward silence with anyone else ever again. That’s what really keeps him going until lunch, when he finds out the truth: Speirs isn’t a sub, he’s Dike’s replacement. He’s here to stay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.
> 
> Speirs is a badass with a crush, Carwood starts to coach the Academic Bowl team and learns of the rumors about Speirs, Nix breaks up with Kathy, and Carwood is having dating troubles

Ron adapts quickly. He always has and that’s why he’s still alive. Teaching at Eisenhower isn’t so different from MacArthur. The children are different, but in the end, children are usually all the same. These children are unique, however, in that they’ve had three months of Norman Dike’s teaching to stunt their education. From the stories Ron’s heard, the man was every bit as stupid and lazy as he’d seemed at the poetry reading. Ron makes up for that the only way he knows how: by pushing these kids to excel.

His overall teaching style hasn’t changed much, though, new school or not. He lectures, he assigns readings and he quizzes daily. He forces discussion and hints about essays to come. He pushes them hard and they hate him for it, probably. But he’s doing his best by them, and they’ll be better for it.

The rumors have started back up, too. They follow him wherever he goes. His whole life they’ve been there. He doesn’t mind them much. In school, as a child, he’d felt sick when he’d hear the others talking about him like that. Now, though, he absorbs it. He can’t stop rumors, but he can use them to his advantage. If his students fear him, and he knows they do from the way they still fidget when he watches them, they excel because of it. No one wants to draw his wrath upon them by not doing work. Most students are good ones, he’s learned, if only they have the right incentive.

So Ron teaches and grades. He’s been assigned lunch duty every other day. He embraces it, like he does all his duties. It’s also his secret pleasure, however, because it’s a duty he shares with one Carwood Lipton. Ron makes his rounds of the cafeteria, eyeing students and making sure no one causes any trouble. And while doing all this, he also watches Carwood. He calls him Car in his head, and watches as he speaks with students, sometimes reprimanding them and sometimes just chatting. Sometimes they stand together, he and Carwood, by the wall, surveying the room. When this happens, Ron always lets his arm brush very softly, almost accidently against Car’s. He can’t bring himself to say anything, not yet, nothing beyond the occasional hello. Sweet Carwood Lipton doesn’t mind, though, just smiles and moves past it.

 

The awkward silences with Speirs keep happening, but somehow Carwood doesn’t mind. In fact, the more they happen, the less awkward they become. It could just be familiarity, but the silence is soothing sometimes. Carwood’s never been the most talkative man, but Speirs is almost completely silent. It’s unusual, certainly, but maybe not such a bad thing as he thought at first.

It’s during on one of the days they have lunch duty together that Carwood first hears the rumors about Speirs. They’re silly, really, the type of things children make up when they have nothing substantial to talk about. They say he once failed a kid for forgetting to put his name on a paper. Another time he brought the whole class candy then gave them a week’s worth of detention. They’re plausible, but only barely. Carwood has to stop himself from laughing every time he hears a whisper about the terrible things Speirs must have done at MacArthur. Kids are ridiculous, sometimes, and Carwood’s glad, because teaching would be a pretty boring if they weren’t.

The rumors are still circulating by the time the Academic Bowl team starts preparing in December. Speirs has been at the school a month, on lunch duty every other day, and they’ve become friends of a sort. Speirs seems like a good man, though a quiet one. He’s apparently a good teacher, too, or so Carwood gathers from conversations during after-school team meetings.

“He’s a slave-driver,” Babe Heffron says, one afternoon. He’s a new recruit this year, but he’s catching on quickly. “I haven’t had a teacher so tough since the nuns at my Catholic elementary school.”

Bull Randleman shrugs. “He’s not so bad. At least we got rid of Dike.”

“I guess,” Heffron says. “I just wish he wouldn’t give so many pop quizzes.”

“As long as he doesn’t give you candy, you’re golden,” Malarkey says. He looks affronted when Carwood laughs a little. “It’s true! My cousin goes to MacArthur. Saw the whole thing.”

Carwood just smiles and lets them talk for a few more minutes before initiating another practice round. It’s better, he figures, for them to get it out of their systems now. It’s just because Speirs is still new. The rumors will fade eventually; they always do. In the meantime, Carwood will just sit back and smile.

 

Nix sometimes goes out for a drink at lunch. Dick knows this and doesn’t mind, as long as it’s only one drink. He doesn’t want the man coming back to work drunk after lunch. He doesn’t especially want him coming into school in the mornings hung-over, either, but that’s less within his control. It does start to become a problem, though, one Friday, mid-December. It’s the third day in a row Nix has come in looking like he’d never even gone to sleep and smelling like a brewery. The first day, Dick had let it go. The second day, Dick was gentle, asking him if he was okay. Today, he’s going to put a stop to it.

The trick with dealing with Nix is to be supportive but laid-back. Nix’s parents were apparently neglectful and overbearing by turns, so he’s got an aversion to both ends of the spectrum. Dick’s learned over the years that if he just acts concerned in Nix’s general vicinity for long enough, he’ll get answers.

It takes until lunch time. Dick spent the entire morning doing paperwork with his door open, occasionally calling out to Nix, who just grunted or swore. At lunch, though, he apparently has some sort of breakdown. There’s shouting involved, and a stapler gets thrown. Eventually, after the theatrics are over and the office aides have been scared away, Dick learns that Nix and Kathy have broken up and Kathy has taken the puppy they got together. To be honest, Nix seems more upset about the dog than anything, but that’s not really unexpected. Nix never really seemed to like Kathy all that much. If anything, he seemed to actively dislike her, spending as much time over at Dick’s place as possible.

Dick doesn’t say anything to Nix’s news or about his tantrum. Coddling or scolding him will only make things worse. Nix will get over the breakup on his own, probably sooner rather than later. It’s good that he’s gotten it all out there, even though the main office is a little bit worse for wear afterward. Still, Dick resolves to keep an eye on Nix until he’s sure the man is really okay. Nix is his absolute best friend, and Dick doubts even Nix knows how much that means to him.

It does mean an awful lot, though, their friendship. Nix was the first friend Dick had made out of everyone in the staff. It seems odd to think that they’ve only been friends for a few years. Sometimes, especially in the trying times like now, it seems like forever. Nix is a man who needs a lot of patience at times. Luckily, Dick has always been a patient man, and he’s perfectly willing to wait. He can wait for this thing with Kathy to blow over, and next time Nix has a problem, he’ll wait then, too. And one of these days, Nix will realize he’s ready to be more than friends, and all Dick’s waiting will have paid off. But until then, well, Dick can be patient.

 

Carwood knows something odd is going on after his fourth failed date in a month. Certainly he’s had people he hadn’t clicked with right away, and in those cases when someone didn’t call about a second date, he accepted it and moved on. But the weird thing is how all of these men he’s gone out with recently have seemed very interested and attentive, until about halfway through the meal, when they all go twitchy and make their excuses to leave abruptly. Tom, the first date, had received a conveniently-timed phone call from his sister about a family emergency, and the second, Alex, had gone to the bathroom and never come back. It was after the third man, Jake, had almost certainly faked a food allergy that Carwood began to think he was cursed. The fourth date never shows up at all. Carwood sits at the table by himself, feeling more and more embarrassed, for nearly twenty minutes before he spots something that could maybe turn his night around: a few tables over, Ron Speirs is sitting by himself, reading a menu.

“Hey,” Carwood says, approaching the table, only a little cautiously. If Speirs is here with someone, he doesn’t want to butt in, but if they’re both alone, there seems to be no reason not to sit together. They’re almost friends, these days, after all. “Want some company?”

Speirs looks up at him and shrugs in that way he has, nonchalant and easy. “Have a seat.”

Carwood pulls out a chair and sits down. “I’m glad you’re here, actually,” he says without really knowing why. “My date didn’t show up.”  
Speirs doesn’t say anything, only quirks an eyebrow and motions for him to continue.

“It’s a bit odd, to tell you the truth. I never had trouble with dates until recently, but they’ve all been a mess lately.”

He spills the whole without meaning too, while Speirs just nods along, silent as always. Once he’s begun talking about it, Carwood starts to feel relieved. It’s nice, being able to say all the things that have been bothering him about the matter, especially the nagging suspicion that it’s not that his dates have been especially rude or that he has bad luck, but rather that Carwood is somehow too unattractive or too boring to be worth dating.

Something flashes across Speirs’ face after he’s said all this, but it’s gone so quickly Carwood can’t make it out. He’s silent for a long moment, then begins to speak quietly.

“Ever since I came to the school, I’ve been hearing things about all the other teachers. Students talk in the halls or during projects and I always hear about them talking about the best teacher in the place: someone they can always ask for help and who never turns a student away, no matter what they’re having problems with.”

Carwood nods, a bit confused about where Speirs is going with this.

“You don’t know who I mean, do you?” Speirs smiles, and it’s so soft and sweet that Carwood’s breath catches in his chest. He would never expect such a serious man to smile like that. “It’s you, Lipton. Every kid I’ve ever heard talking about it agrees that you’re the go-to teacher for any kind of problem, ever since Winters stopped teaching. You’re a good teacher and a good man, and whatever is scaring off these men, it’s not you.”

The tight feeling in Carwood’s chest expands and spreads to his fingertips, which begin to tingle, just a little bit. No one has ever said anything so nice to him, probably in his whole life. And coming from a man like Speirs, who speaks so rarely, it really means a lot.

“You can call me Carwood, if you want,” he offers.

“Carwood,” Speirs repeats, smile spreading and eyes crinkling in the corner.

The waitress brings their food, then, and Carwood looks away to thank her. When he looks back, Speirs’ smile is gone, replaced by his usual blank look. It’s disappointing, but at least Carwood knows the truth. Inside Ron Speirs is a sweet man, and Carwood is determined to find him again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.
> 
>  
> 
> Carwood needs help with the Academic Bowl, Nix is totally over Kathy but needs a new girlfriend stat or bad things will happen, and Ron absolutely does not go on a date, though not for lack of trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is absolutely no excuse for this taking months to update, so I apologize for that. the only thing i can say is that i got sucked back into the avengers fandom, which is a lovely place to be, but which somehow always steals my soul. 
> 
> also, extra warning in this chapter for a tiny bit of gay-bashing or maybe internalized homophobia, but it's seriously like two sentences, and the person who thinks it absolutely does not mean it, he's just making excuses

A week before Christmas vacation is supposed to start, Carwood finally realizes that he’s going to need help managing the Academic Bowl team. It’s not that it’s hard work, exactly, but more that the team needs more practice than he can give them with his schedule already so full. He doesn’t have much of a social life, either, having finally given up on dating after so many failures, which makes it all the more frustrating that he can’t find the time to fit in all the practices they need. The thing is, though, that even without dating, Car has an extremely busy life. He tutors after school at least twice a week, and at six every day he’s got to check up on his mother in the nursing home, make sure she’s okay. Since her mind is in perfect condition, even if her health’s not so great, she would definitely notice him not showing up, and he couldn’t do that to her, anyway. The kids in tutoring need him, too, if they want to pass their classes. So that pretty much means that practices are confined to three days a week when they should be happening four or five.

The real problem is who to ask to help. There are plenty of teachers interested, he’s sure, but most of them probably have busy lives, too. He doesn’t need someone to be there every day, probably only two or three times a week, but it has to be someone reliable. He also needs someone that the kids will like and trust, someone who’s a good teacher and willing to spend their time on a project like this. The ideal choice, of course, would be Dick Winters, but he’s already made it clear that his job as acting principal means he can’t run the program. Carwood’s second choice would be Buck Compton, but he’s teaching for another district now, which would make it difficult, if not impossible. Apart from those two, Car can’t actually think of anyone who would fulfill the requirements.

The answer comes to him a few days later after practice. All the kids are filing out, waving goodbye and calling, “Seeya, Lip,” as they go. For some reason, though, Babe Heffron is lagging behind, tying his shoe slowly enough that Carwood can tell he’s stalling on purpose.

“What’s up, Babe?” he asks, once everyone else is gone. Babe straightens up, looking caught out and embarrassed.

“Can I ask you a question, Lip?” he asks, nervously. “Something personal-like?”

Carwood doesn’t sigh, but he wants to. He wants to help these kids, he does, and if that means telling them things about his personal life, that’s what he’ll do. He just knows from experience that telling them those things is a risk, one that’s as likely to make the problem worse as solve it. “Sure,” he says, anyway. “What’s on your mind?”

“Are you gay?” Babe asks, whispers, really, like he’s afraid to say the words too loud.

Here we go, Carwood thinks. He’s got a good idea of where this is going, because the last student to ask him that was George Luz, who was harboring a very inappropriate and very obvious crush on him. Carwood never wants to have that conversation again, the one about breach in contracts and just staying good friends. Still, he can’t let this go unchecked or send the wrong signals, not if he wants what’s best for Babe.

“Yeah, I am,” he says, and he makes sure he sounds proud to admit it. These kids get enough bad messages about being gay that they could use a positive role model, even if he can’t be what they want romantically.

“Oh,” Babe breathes. “I need advice, then. There’s this guy I like, but he doesn’t even know I exist.”

“Is this guy on the Academic Bowl team?” Carwood asks, silently begging, please don’t let it be me.

“Yeah. But like I said, he doesn’t even know me. He won’t even call me by my nickname, just calls me ‘Heffron’ or one time he even called me ‘Edward.’ The last people that called me that were the nuns, you know? I think maybe he hates me.”

“Is this about Eugene Roe?” Carwood asks, realizing suddenly who they’re talking about. “Because, Babe, he never uses anyone’s nicknames. It’s nothing personal.”

“Exactly,” Babe says. 

“Look,” Carwood says, reasonably. “You have to be direct about this. Gene’s never going to know you like him if you don’t tell him. Ask him on a date or something. I know Gene, he’s a nice kid, and even if he says no, he’s not going to hate you. What do you have to lose?”

“Nothing, I guess,” Babe admits. “It’s not like he knows who I am, now, anyway.”

“He does, Babe,” Carwood tells him. “Trust me.”

“Okay,” Babe says, apparently reassured. Mostly these kids just need someone to talk to, and that’s what Carwood’s there for. “Thanks, Lip. I appreciate it. I was thinking I was going to have to talk to Speirs about this, and I wasn’t sure I would make it out of that alive.”

“Get out of here,” Carwood says, laughing just a bit. Kids are ridiculous, but by this point the fear of Speirs is mostly for show, he knows. But as Babe’s thanking him again and leaving the room, the idea sticks with him. Speirs. Why not, right? He’s not the ideal choice for the Academic Bowl, but he’s certainly capable and the kids are fond of him, whether they’ll admit it or not.

Carwood makes a decision, and grabs his keys from his desk. He’s still got to go see his mother, then dinner needs cooked and his apartment needs a good cleaning, but tomorrow, he’ll definitely ask Speirs for help.

 

Nix gets over Kathy quicker than he’d anticipated and he knows it has everything to do with Dick. Dick’s there for him all the time, every day, there to fill the holes in his life that being single brings. With Dick around, Nix knows he’ll never have to eat alone if he doesn’t want to, and he’ll always have a place to crash if his empty apartment becomes too much. He likes Dick’s place better, anyway, truth be told, and not just because it has Dick in it. It just feels more like home, somehow, for all that it’s in a less respectable part of town than Nix’s apartment.

By Christmas break, Nix is almost completely over the breakup. He never really liked Kathy anyway, was only dating her because it seemed like the thing to do. But with a friend like Dick, who needs a girlfriend? He gets almost everything he needs from Dick: time, attention, entertainment. If only sex was a thing between them, he wouldn’t ever need to have another girlfriend again. They’re friends, though, nothing more, and even best friends don’t think of each other like that. And that, right there, is the reason he kept Kathy around, the reason he needs to get another girlfriend soon, because the more time he spends fucking some chick, the less time he spends thinking about things he’s not supposed to, like Dick, all spread out on his bed, flushed from something other than spicy chicken, panting and needy, all for Nix.

Um. Anyway.

“What did you say?” he asks, because Dick is looking at him expectantly from his position just outside his office, like he’s waiting for an answer.

“I asked if you wanted to come over tonight, to celebrate school being out for a whole week and a half. We could watch a movie or something.” He doesn’t even sound mad about having to repeat himself, which is another reason Nix loves him (purely platonically, of course, nothing gay here): his patience.

“Sure,” he says. “Why not? Will there be liquor or should I bring my own?”

Dick sighs, but he clearly loves Nix, too (no homo) because he just smiles and says, “I’ll pick something up.”

He’ll get the good stuff, too, Nix knows, because they’re best friends, and that means something.

 

“Hey, Ron,” he hears during lunch duty, and looks up to see Car standing next to him, smiling nervously. It’s odd. Car’s smiles are many, though all beautiful, but they’re not normally nervous. It’s one of the things Ron likes about the man: he’s rarely afraid.  
He nods his hello, because even if it’s just Car, he still gets tongue-tied, sometimes. Because it is Car, though, it doesn’t matter that he can’t talk.

“Are you busy after school, usually?” Car asks, and Ron feels his stomach getting tight in anticipation. Knock it off, he thinks sternly at it. This is no time for that. He’s right, too, because then Car continues, “It’s just that I need someone to help with the Academic Bowl practices, and I think you might be the man for the job, if you’re up to it.”

Not a date, then. Not an invitation for dinner or to the movies or wherever it is people go on dates. From his observations, Ron knows that Car likes to meet his dates at a certain restaurant down town called Mario’s. The food is okay, and with Car there, the company is fantastic, but none of the men he brings there are worthy of it. Luckily, Ron’s preventative measures seem to be taking effect, since Car hasn’t gone on a date in seventeen days. And even if this invitation isn’t all it could be, it’s still spending time with Car, which means it’s half of a date, already. And if it helps the students, too, it might be okay. As long as there’s not much talking involved.

“Yes,” he says firmly, determinedly. “I’ll do it.” Then the words he really wants to say force their way out of his mouth without his permission. “Do you want to see the fireworks with me on New Year’s?” 

“I’d love to,” Car says, and his smile makes Ron feels so warm and soft that it almost makes up for his next words. “We should definitely hang out more. Dating was such a failure that I almost forgot I could just be friends with people, too.”

Friends, Ron thinks, but doesn’t repeat. Friends. Some of the warmth drains away, and his breath stutters a bit, with a feeling he thinks might be disappointment. Still, it’s with Carwood, it’s spending time with him, and watching him smile and just breathing in the air around him, which smells like mints and paper and a soft cologne. If that’s all Ron can get from this man, he’ll take it.

They do go to the fireworks together, and it’s the first time a date’s shown up after saying they would, even if this isn’t a date. They don’t hold hands, but they sit close together on the grass, Carwood watching the lights and Ron watching Carwood, seeing the colors reflect in his eyes and noticing the way his smile shines when he laughs. It’s loud and crowded and noisy at the park where they go, but no one stares at Ron or whispers about him and he’s so busy watching Car that he doesn’t even notice if people get fidgety around him. And Car, he never gets fidgety, not even when Ron’s at his quietest, and certainly not tonight. This might not be dating, but it’s better than anything Ron’s ever had, and he wants to keep it with everything inside him. And hopefully, hopefully he will.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.
> 
>  
> 
> Ron and Carwood have many not-dates, the Academic Bowl team prepares, and Nix accidentally ruins his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, if everything goes according to plan, next chapter should be the last, with a short epilogue after that. enjoy :)

After Christmas break, things get back to normal with one small exception: every few nights Carwood and Ron hang out. It’s never anything extravagant, but it is a lot more fun than Car’s had in a long time. They watch movies or sometimes eat together. It’s nothing like any of Carwood’s failed dates. For one, there’s no pressure to seem desirable. Not that Carwood ever really tried that hard, because he believes in being honest with potential boyfriends, and he’s not going to be someone he’s not, ever. But the feeling was still there, every date, the one where he knew deep down he wasn’t attractive enough or exciting enough for the men he was out with.

With Ron, though, none of those feelings are there. They just hang out together, no pressure. And it could be the fact that it’s not a date, but Carwood has a feeling it has more to do with Ron himself. For all that the man doesn’t talk often, he’s surprisingly easy to talk to. If he asks, Car knows he’ll spill his deepest secrets, his darkest desires, without even hesitating.

Case in point: Ron is at Carwood’s apartment, and they’re making dinner together in about mid-February. They’ve been doing this more often than going out, lately, just one of them going over to the other’s place and cooking together. It’s usually a great time, though not very exciting, which is honestly fine with Carwood, because he’s always been something of a homebody. Tonight, though, something unusual does happen, because as they’re sitting on the couch together after dinner, watching a documentary about Lewis and Clark on PBS, Ron looks over and asks him a question.

Now, Ron is the quietest guy Carwood knows, and even when he does talk, the things he says don’t always make sense. Some of the students have repeated back the stories of his classes for Car, because students love gossip more than life itself, and while Ron is apparently an excellent teacher, his answers about homework or assignments are sometimes confusing. Like the one time after a lecture on Beowulf, when Perconte raised his hand and said, “But Mr. Dike told us it meant this…” Ron had replied, “Mr. Dike told you that, huh? Well then, forget what I said,” then offered them all candy. Carwood takes this to mean Ron has a very subtle sense of humor and the self-confidence to embrace the rumors about himself and joke about them, but the kids had all been terrified.

But tonight, Ron turns to him and asks, “How did you get your scar?”

Carwood blushes, and brings a hand up to his face, where the scar is. He’s never told anyone about how he got the scar, mostly because everyone he knew as a child knew when it happened, and no one in his adult life has ever asked about it, probably worried about being rude. Ron, though, he doesn’t think like other people, and Carwood feels comfortable enough with him to answer.

“I was in a car wreck when I was ten. I was lucky, though. My father was killed and my mother was paralyzed.” It only hurts a little to say, after so many years, but Carwood remembers the terrible grief of those first few years, the pressure of trying to keep his shattered family together. He thinks they were all happy together, before the accident, but for years afterward, all he could remember was the sting of shattering glass and the sound of the horn blaring. 

“Where’s your mother, now?” Ron asks.

“A nursing home downtown. Her health isn’t so great, but she’s still sharp as a tack. I’d have her stay with me, but I’m just not qualified to take care of her. I visit, though, every day before supper.”

“Oh,” Ron says, quiet. “I’d like to meet her. If you don’t mind.”

“I’d really like that,” Carwood tells him. He feels inexplicably warm at the offer. He’s known for months now that Ron is a great guy, but now he thinks, huh, this might be someone I could fall in love with.

 

Ron notices the change in Car a few days after asking about his scar. He shouldn’t have, he knows, from the look he got after asking. Car wasn’t upset, though, just surprised, and the way his eyes got distant and wistful when talking about the accident made Ron want to hold him. He didn’t, knew he couldn’t make his arms gentle enough, his touch soothing enough. Car deserves someone who can hold him the right way, and Ron wants to be that man, he does, but it’s all wishful thinking.

The change afterward is in Carwood’s smiles. He gets a new one, one Ron’s never seen him use before. It’s only sometimes and it’s only ever toward Ron, and it makes Ron’s breath catch, to know there’s a smile just for him. It’s a soft, sweet smile, and Car’s eyes do this thing when he’s using it that makes Ron think he’s being seen through, down to his deepest secrets and worst fears. Car’s never used that smile on any of the guys he’s gone out with, since Ron’s known him, and even though he hates to do it, Ron feels hope.

That smile is the reason Ron looks forward to Academic Bowl practices, but it’s okay in other ways, too. At the very beginning, the kids had all stared at him the whole time, nervous and fidgety. It’s different when he’s teaching, because there are enough kids in the classes that none of them feel too close to him. Practices are more intimate, though, and that scares them, the same way it scares Ron.

Lately, though, the students at practices have stopped fidgeting quite so badly when Ron is around them. Even on the days Car isn’t there, none of them stare at him anymore, afraid or nervous. Now, they just get on with the practice, memorizing and learning, preparing for the competition in March. They’re getting better, too, all of them, answering more and more questions correctly, and for all that Ron doesn’t have to talk much for them to improve, it still gives him that happy feeling, the one he gets whenever someone scores 100% on a test.

Plus, even though Car’s not there every practice, Ron knows he’ll probably see him in the evening. They’re not dating, but they are together in a way Ron can barely believe is real, sometimes. When they’re side by side on the couch, or watching each other from across the table, Ron just wants to take Car’s hand and hold it, to cling and never let go. He wants to say silly things, to tell Car everything about himself, even the things he doesn’t like to think about. He wants to cry and laugh and run around like a crazy person. 

It’s love, he thinks, and it’s not a thought he’s ever had before. Back when he was just watching Car from afar, brushing arms with him in the cafeteria or staring at his dates, it was a hunger, a desire. Now, though, after they’ve spent so much time together, learned so much about each other, it’s become a feeling so deep inside him that it’s hard to breathe, sometimes. He wants to feel this way for the rest of his life. If only he could make himself tell Car the whole truth about what he’s done, everything would be perfect. Until he can work up the courage, though, he’s going to just let himself feel this, feel love, and bask in it.

 

Nix makes the worst mistake of his life at the end of February. It’s all because of Valentine’s Day, really. All day, between his usual tasks of answering phones, sorting mail and responding to e-mails, he delivers valentines to the faculty. There are always a crazy amount of them every year, flowers and cards and candy, and once even a giant stuffed teddy bear. Most are from people outside the school, lovers, spouses and the like, but some are sent from within the school, from other teachers or even students. There was an especially memorable one last year that a blushing George Luz gave to Nix to deliver to Lip anonymously. He’d made Nix promise not to tell, but Lip grades enough papers to recognize a student’s handwriting, and they apparently had a long talk after that about what was and wasn’t an appropriate student-teacher relationship. Lip had been distraught about the whole thing, because he’s a good guy who hates to hurt people’s feelings, but Luz seems to have accepted the whole thing with good grace and he and Frank Perconte got pretty close after that.

Not all of the valentines from students have romantic undertones, though. The student council does this thing every year where they all pick out the name of a faculty or staff member and give them secret little gifts for every holiday. It’s a nice thing for them to do and it really breaks up the monotony of the year. Nix has narrowed his down by this point to either Shifty Powers or Gene Roe, while Dick’s is definitely David Webster, who has a unique and slightly pretentious style that would be recognizable anywhere.

Lip and Speirs have valentines from their own student council secret admirers, Popeye Wynn and John Janovec, respectively, but funnily enough, they also both have valentines from each other, anonymous, of course. With Lip it makes sense, because he’s sweet and likes to make other people feel good, but Nix just can’t imagine Speirs being the type of guy who would send someone a valentine. 

Though, on the other hand, Nix isn’t really the type of guy to do that, either, but that doesn’t explain the anonymous valentines he’s sent to Dick every year since they met. It doesn’t explain the expensive Christmas presents, either, though at least he’s able to play those off as just him having too much money to burn. It also doesn’t explain the house just outside town that he’s been thinking about buying for the simple fact that there’d be plenty of space for little redheaded babies to grow up in, or the wedding ring he’s been eyeing up for over a year that would look so good against pale, freckled skin. It doesn’t explain any of that, and none of it even makes any sense, because Nix loves Dick, but they’re only friends and they’ll never be anything else. 

Or, that’s what he thinks, anyway. Except, when Dick licks his lips during lunch and says, “Want to come over, tonight?” Nix can’t help but feel like he’s been asked on a date.

“Sure,” he says, anyway. “No point in both of us being single and alone on Valentine’s Day.” It’s just a dinner between two friends, he tells himself, a little desperately. They do it all the time. It doesn’t matter what day it is and everything will be just like normal.

But, when he gets to Dick’s apartment that night, things aren’t like normal. The lights are dimmed, for one, and there are candles and a nice, fancy dinner all set up. Dick’s a great cook, just like he’s great at everything he puts his mind to, but this must have taken hours to put together.

“What’s going on?” he asks, suspiciously. He’s torn between nervousness and excitement. This isn’t what he thinks it is, can’t be, because they’re just friends, nothing more.

“We’re having dinner,” Dick answers, like nothing’s out of the ordinary at all. “Come sit down before it gets cold.”

So Nix does. He goes and sits down and they eat. The food’s spectacular and the lighting’s a bit odd, but it’s just a meal, something they always do together. So they eat and then they watch a movie, something romantic, in honor of Valentine’s Day, probably. But, after the movie, things get weird again, because instead of putting on the news or going to do the dishes or any of the things Dick usually does, he turns to Nix, puts a hand on his face and kisses him.

It’s like Nix can’t help himself after that. He kisses back, moans into Dick’s mouth, then pushes his hands up underneath Dick’s shirt, feels the heat and the strength of his back. It’s not too much trouble, after that, to get Dick’s shirt off completely. He admires the pale skin, the strong shoulders, touches his chest reverently, because this is something he never thought he’d get to do.

His heart almost stops when Dick pulls away from his touch, stands up, but then Dick takes his hand and drags him back to the bedroom, to the bed where they’ve slept together before, on opposite ends and not touching. It’s never been anything like this before, but Nix goes with it, taking everything he can get. He gets Dick out of the rest of his clothes, gets rid of his own. Then, head swimming, he does something he’s wanted to do for years and lays Dick out on the bed.

The condom and lube appear out of nowhere, but Dick pushes them into his hand and says, roughly, “Fuck me.” He blushes when he says it, though, all down his chest, and Nix loses several minutes just nuzzling into his ribs, enjoying the heat, before he comes back to himself and gets down to business. He gets fingers inside him first, probably too quickly, but Dick bucks up against them, trying to get them deeper and Nix shivers a little, caught up in how perfect this is. Nix wants, he’s always wanted, and when he gets his cock inside, he loses his mind a little with the tightness and the heat and how Dick cries out when he hits just the right angle. Then he gets a hand around Dick, strokes him in time to the roll of his hips, and the cries come with every thrust, now. Then Dick comes, tightens around him and it’s just way too much and Nix loses it, too. 

It’s not until afterward, lying together, holding each other close like Nix has always wanted to do, that he realizes what a mistake this may have been. They’re friends, they’ve always been best friends, and this, it’s not something friends do. It’s for the best, he thinks, and sneaks away after Dick’s asleep. He leaves a note as he goes, though, because Dick’s his best friend, and nothing is ever going to change that, not if he can help it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.
> 
>  
> 
> Dick finally calls Nix into his office and shuts the door, Easy team competes in the Academic Bowl, and Ron makes a confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, last chapter. just a short epilogue left to go. apologies for how long this took, but my muse has been exhausted from my soul-sucking job. so, sorry about that, and i hope you enjoy

When Dick wakes up to an empty bed and a note on the dresser, he sighs and thinks about rolling over to go back to sleep. Then he thinks about Nix punishing himself or drinking it out of his mind, and goes to grab a quick shower instead. While he’s soaping up his hair, he reflects on the situation.

The thing of it is, Dick had been sure Nix was ready for this. He’s been sending Dick anonymous valentines for years, watching his mouth while he eats, touching for just a little bit too long. He’s always seemed so conflicted about it, though, so Dick knew he’d have to wait until the time was right, until Nix was ready to have what Dick could give him. He’d thought last night was the night. It was Valentine’s Day, after all, and Nix’s seemed so interested in Carwood and Ron’s blooming relationship that Dick thought things were coming together for him.

It had been a heck of night, too. Nix is a sweet kisser, and a scorcher in bed. They’d even cuddled afterward, which should have been a sure sign that Nix wasn’t freaking out. Of course, the note on the dresser that says, “Sorry, but I can’t,” seems pretty indicative of the exact opposite. Dick thinks if he was any other type of man, he’d be offended. He knows Nix too well, though, and it’s nothing personal. Nix just has his own issues he needs to work out. On the other hand, though, there’s no reason Dick can’t give him a little encouragement.

 

The worst part about Nix’s job is that when he doesn’t want to see Dick, he’s still literally right outside his office. This is almost never an issue, because they only rarely have fights or anything like that. Nix is a bit high strung, he’ll admit it, but Dick is cool and calm and harder to draw into an argument than Mother Teresa. He just takes whatever Nix throws at him and keeps on doing his own thing. Today, though, it’s not a fight Nix is worried about.

He spent all weekend avoiding Dick’s calls, but today, he’s going to have to face him and what they did together. Best case scenario, Dick agrees to just forget about it and they go back to being friends. Nix isn’t sure how he would survive without Dick, so that’s the scenario he’s gunning for. Worst case scenario, though, Dick doesn’t want to look at him or touch him and things become incredibly awkward. It was bad enough when Kathy broke up with him, and he couldn’t stand her. If Dick doesn’t want to be around him anymore, Nix isn’t sure how he’s going to survive it.

When Dick gets in, though, he makes deliberate eye contact when he says good morning, which gives Nix hope for the best case scenario. He doesn’t close his door when he goes into his office, either, also a good sign. Of course, that could be because he wants to be able to see when Speirs and Lip come through to sign their kids out for the big Academic Bowl competition, so he can wish them luck. They deserve the well-wishes, really, because they’ve worked really hard preparing for this contest. Still, this field trip of theirs means Nix has to monitor to make sure the substitutes show up on time and stuff, which is a total bummer, no matter what the cause.

After the group leaves for the Academic Bowl, Nix and Dick do paperwork the entire rest of the morning, making eye contact periodically, just like every other day. Or rather, Dick does paperwork the whole morning, while Nix does half an hour’s worth then pawns the rest of it off onto Grant and plays some solitaire instead. Also like every other day, then. He sees the look Dick gives him at that, but it’s more of a “I see what you’re doing,” look, rather than a “We slept together and now it’s awkward,” look, so that’s alright.

So, yeah, the morning goes okay. Eventually, though, it’s time for lunch. Dick stands up and stretches, then walks casually to the door of his office, leaning against the doorframe. He does give Nix a strange look, then, one that probably means something less like “I could go for Chinese good,” and closer to “I think we should talk about us fucking,” except Dick probably doesn’t even think the word ‘fucking,’ it’s probably something much more tame like ‘making love.’ Pfft, as if Nix needs to screw Dick into the mattress to love him. 

Uh, that’s not where he thought that train of thought was going, but whatever.

“Want to get Chinese?” Nix asks, anyway, hoping he’s misinterpreted something. He absolutely does not want to talk about what happened on Valentine’s Day. “I could get it delivered if you don’t want to go out.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Dick says, and there’s something devious in his voice that makes Nix start to sweat. “Why don’t you come into my office?”

“Um… okay,” Nix says. He stands up and makes his way around his desk. Dick doesn’t move from his spot when Nix passes him, so he’s forced to brush right up against him to get into the office. He takes a good look around once he’s in there. He doesn’t come in here often; usually, Dick comes to him. He’s inspecting a picture on Dick’s desk of the two of them on a camping trip a few years earlier when he hears Dick say, “Thanks for coming, Nix.”

Then he shuts the door. Nix sets the photo back down and turns to face Dick, who’s still leaning casually against the door, just watching him. Something in his eyes makes him look like a predator, though, makes Nix feel like he’s being hunted. Then Dick locks the door and Nix swallows, nervously. He’s not sure what’s going on here, but something tickles in the back of his brain, some half-buried memory of being called into the principal’s office in boarding school, and he can’t help but shiver to think about it.

“I think you’ve been misbehaving, Lewis,” Dick says, and that, that’s when Nix’s brain shuts down and he begins to make poor choices again.

 

The competition at the Academic Bowl is tough. There are twenty-four other teams from the region, and they all look like they’ve been preparing for months, too. Carwood’s kids aren’t scared, though. Some of the newer ones seem kinda nervous, but they’ll pull through, he knows from experience. Even if they don’t win today, they’re all going to do their absolute best and go home satisfied.

Ron’s gone quiet again, not much surprise considering how he gets in crowds, but he doesn’t seem to be radiating any disapproval or anxiety, so Carwood figures it’s probably safe to leave him with the kids while he goes to sign them in. He smiles for the pretty young lady managing the sign-in sheet, because it never hurts to be polite, and she smiles back when she gives him the team’s number. They’re in the third showdown, which isn’t bad, because it’ll give them plenty of time to regroup if they move on to the next round in the competition.

When Carwood gets back to the group, they’re all talking together excitedly, sizing up the other teams and doing quick reviews of information they think might be necessary. Or, well, that’s what the kids are all doing. Ron is staring moodily over Carwood’s shoulder.

“What are you looking at?” Carwood asks, idly curious. He didn’t see anything when he was over there that would necessitate that kind of a reaction. He turns to look again, just to make sure, but all he sees is the sign-in lady, though she is looking pretty unsettled about something and is resolutely avoiding looking in this direction. Ron just shakes his head in answer to the question, though, so Carwood lets it go and goes to give his team a pep talk.

“Okay, guys,” he says, getting them all into a huddle. “We’ve worked for this for months, and today, we’re going to go out there and do our best, nothing more, nothing less. If we win, fantastic, the school will pay for us to have a pizza party or something. If we don’t win, I’ll know that all of you did your absolute best, and we can have pizza anyway, my treat.”

“Pizza,” Skip repeats, reverently, and Carwood smiles; he knew that was a selling point.

He makes his line-up after that. For the first round, he sends a mixture of his heavy hitters and his rookies: Bull, Malarkey, Luz, Shifty Powers and Babe. Babe’s the youngest of them and the newest to the team, so Carwood keeps an eye on him as the first and second showdowns play through. He seems fine, though, calm if a bit nervous. And when he gets up to go to the table for their turn, Eugene Roe stands up, too, and kisses him for good luck, right there in front of representatives from twenty-four other schools. It’s nothing scandalous, just a peck on the lips, but Carwood feels pleased at how open they’re being, how well their relationship seems to be working out. Academic Bowl, he thinks, fondly, bringing people together since 1953.

The kiss must work, because they knock it out of the park that round, and in the next one, too. Perconte and Luz do some kind of complicated handshake after their third round victory, and then they’re in the finals. It’s an intense round, more so than the others leading up to it. There are some definite misses, too, ones that he can see his kids kicking themselves for. Webster freezes up once, on a question about Shakespeare, even though Carwood knows for a fact he knows the answer, and Skip accidently says “Bulgaria” instead of “Romania” in one question about the Red Army. Other than that, though, they do really well. 

Just not well enough.

“Second place isn’t bad, guys,” he tells them afterward, as they’re all sitting dejectedly on the bleachers, watching the volunteers clean the place up. He sees Ron pat Perconte consolingly on the shoulder, and it makes him feel warm and pleased. “It’s great, in fact. Out of twenty-four teams here, only one of them was able to beat us. I’m proud of all of you, not just for trying your best, but for doing something that twenty-three other teams couldn’t do. Seriously, good job, boys.”

It’s not much consolation, he knows, but he promised them a pizza party, so there’s that, at least. He’ll do it next week, once they’ve all had time to process their loss and turn it into a victory in their minds. They’ll all be happier about it by that point and more than determined to try harder next year.

“Let’s pack it in,” he says at last, and herds them all toward the door. 

On the bus ride back to the school, all the kids crowd at the back. They’re still pretty down, so Carwood and Ron sit up front to give them privacy.

“They did well,” Ron says, and Carwood thinks it might be the first thing he’s said all day.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “And they’ll do better next year. Will you be interested in helping out again, do you think?”

He sounds hopeful, he knows, but that’s okay. He never wants to pressure Ron into anything, but Ron should know how much Carwood wants to be around him.

Ron doesn’t answer, though. Instead, he takes a deep, sharp breath, looks Carwood right in the eyes and blurts out, “I scared away your dates.”

“What?” Carwood asks, laughing a bit. Ron’s so weird sometimes.

“Your dates,” Ron repeats. “They kept leaving half-way through the night. It wasn’t you. It was me. I…I’m sorry.”  
Carwood sobers up a bit at that. “Oh,” he says, softly. It makes a lot of sense, actually. He never had dating troubles until around the time that Ron started teaching at Eisenhower. And there was that one time, when his date didn’t even show up, that he’d had dinner with Ron instead. He never even thought to wonder why Ron was there that night, just a few tables away. Actually, it’s a relief, in a way. Despite everything Ron had said to him that night, Carwood had been still half-convinced he wasn’t good enough to make his dates stay. Now he knows it wasn’t him at all.

“Why, though?” he asks, not angry, just confused.

“They didn’t deserve your smiles,” Ron says, quiet and intense. “I wanted you to smile at me.”

It’s actually pretty sweet, Carwood thinks and he does smile, then, right at Ron, who’s so adorably misguided sometimes. “Do you want to come over tonight?” he asks. “As a date?”

“Yes,” Ron says immediately. He looks like he’s gearing up to say something else, too, but then there’s a yell and a scuffle at the back of the bus and Carwood has to go back there to deal with it. Kids, he thinks, and keeps on smiling.

 

“I can’t believe we just fucked over your desk,” Nix says, panting into Dick’s hair as they slump together awkwardly on Dick’s office chair.

It’s very unusual, Dick’ll give him that, but not necessarily unbelievable, especially considering Dick’s been planning this encounter all year, ever since he became principal. And even before that, he’d definitely had similar plans for his teacher’s desk in his old classroom. He’d just been waiting for the right time put those plans into action.

“I can’t believe you walked out on me the morning after we had sex for the first time,” he says, instead, because they have to talk about it, it’s nonnegotiable.

“I left a note!” Nix says, defensively. “And I’ll have you know, that note was straight from the heart.”

“Okay,” Dick says, agreeably, because there’s no point in arguing about this. He doesn’t want to wind Nix up, just make him see reason. “But I wish you would have just stayed instead.”

“Dick,” Nix says, wretchedly, and he starts to disentangle himself to stand up, but stops when Dick puts a hand on his arm. “We can’t do this, we just can’t. It’s going to ruin everything.”

“Listen, Lew,” Dick says, and he puts everything he’s got into his voice, all his love and frustration and hope for this man. “Nothing is going to be ruined, and I can promise you that for a fact, because nothing’s changed. I’ve loved you for years, and just because we had sex doesn’t make that untrue. I love you and I’ve always loved you, and even if we stay just friends or we become everything I know we could be together, I’ll still always love you, no matter what.”

There’s a long, long pause, then Nix breathes, “Years?”

“Years,” Dick confirms. “I was waiting for you to be ready. Now’s the time, Nix, you’re ready for it, now.”

“No,” Nix says, panic in his voice. “I’m not ready. What if I screw this up? You know how I get.”

“You mean screw this up by walking out after our first time together?” Dick asks, innocently. He shouldn’t tease, he knows, but it’s proving a point, too. Nix looks worried, though, so Dick just smiles at him. “I’m kidding, Nix. There’s nothing you could do that would make me not love you. That’s not speculation, either. We’ve been friends for years, and I know all of your tricks and all of your landmines. I can tell you right now, that short of cheating on me, there is absolutely no way for you to mess this up.”

He lets this all sink in for a few minutes and feels pleased when Nix’s shoulders relax a bit. He’s known since that very first year teaching here that he wanted to end up with this man, and now, here they are, cuddling naked together while they discuss their relationship. Dick has big plans for the future, getting married, buying a dog, having kids. He wants all of those things and he won’t rest until he has them. He can be patient, though, can wait until Nix is ready, because Nix is worth it, always has been.

“Okay,” Nix says, finally, and grins a little, “but for the record, I did warn you. Now, uh, how do you feel about jewelry?”

“Well,” Dick says, carefully but also so truthfully, “I’ve always been a sucker for a wedding band.”

“Perfect,” Nix says, and leans back into kiss him.

 

Ron shows up exactly on time at Carwood’s apartment that night, wearing his nicest pair of jeans and a polo shirt. He feels stupid about it, about being dressed up, but Car’s other dates, the ones who didn’t deserve him, they always dressed up, so Ron does, too. He’s been waiting and waiting for this, ever since they first met and Car smiled at him so sweetly. And now that he’s finally here, finally on a date with this man, he’s not sure he’s not going to mess it up.

He’s on his absolute best behavior, as Car invites him in and leads him into the kitchen. Dinner’s already cooked, and Ron only feels a little sad that he won’t get to cook with Car, because the food looks really good, and so does Car. He’s dressed up, too, in a blue button-down and slacks. The way the shirt looks on his shoulders makes Ron’s breath catch every time he sees it. Car’s using the smile, too, the one that’s just for Ron, and that, that’s when he forgets all about his best behavior.

They talk about the Academic Bowl team while they eat. Car does most of the talking, but that’s the way Ron likes it. He never feels pressured to talk around Car, he can just do it or not, and either way is fine. He does have things to say about this, though, and he doesn’t feel awkward when he says them. His list of favorite things about Car is long enough that he actually has to write it down, (and after tonight it will include that blue shirt) but no matter how it gets re-ordered, his easiness to talk to is always in the top five.

Eventually, after they’re done eating, Car looks up at Ron from beneath his eyelashes. He’s got a smile on that Ron’s never seen before, one that’s shy and hungry in equal parts. “Want to go to bed?” he asks, and Ron’s all about that.

They walk to bedroom together, and Ron doesn’t mind when Car takes his hand as they walk. Inside the room, it’s awkward for minute, but Ron’s used to awkward, lives with it every day of his life, so he doesn’t let it get to him. He just steps in close and kisses Car.

It’s sweet, the kiss, soft in a way that makes the warmth in Ron’s stomach spread out to his fingertips. He fumbles with Car’s shirt after a few minutes of kissing. It’s a shame to take the thing off, but he wants to feel the skin underneath it. Car takes the hint, gets rid of his shirt then helps Ron with his. They separate for a minute to kick out of their pants, then Car grabs Ron’s hand again and pulls him over to the bed, has him sit down on it. Then Car sinks down onto his knees.

Ron didn’t know, before tonight, that the same mouth that smiles in all those different ways could also do this. It’s a sloppy blowjob, obviously unpracticed, but it’s good, so incredibly good. It takes every bit of self-control Ron has to not buck up into the wet heat of Car’s mouth, to keep his hold on the back of Car’s head gentle and not demanding. He forgets to be quiet, though, and he knows he’s making stupid noises as he gets closer to coming.

“Wait,” he pants, remembering what else he could have. The possibilities make his head spin. “I want to fuck you.”

Car pulls back slowly, smiles up at him. “Okay,” he says, agreeably, voice hoarse. He stands, blushing a bit, and grabs what he needs out of the bedside table drawer.

The noises Car makes when Ron pulls him down to lie on the bed and crawls over him are soft and dirty. They’re music to Ron’s ears as he gets his fingers wet and gets one, then two inside Car. He works his way up to three, while Car whimpers and pushes back against him.

“Ron, please,” Car says finally, desperate and needy. Car is so rarely desperate for anything, always calm and in control, so Ron rewards the tone of his voice by rolling the condom on, slicking himself up and sliding inside.

It’s everything he thought it would be, tight and heat and that warm feeling he knows now means love. It’s that feeling he concentrates on as he rolls his hips forward, keeping himself steady and focused. Still, he knows he’s not going to last long, not after so long of wishing he could have this, so he works quickly to find the angle he needs. It takes a few tries, but he gets it. He goes hard and fast, and Car just opens around him, pushes back up against him, cries out so nicely when Ron strokes his cock. It’s beautiful, all of it, and when Car screws up his eyes and comes, well, Ron doesn’t last too long after that.

They lie together afterward, something Ron’s never done with anyone before. He wishes he could think of something to say, something profound that would make Car smile at him. Apparently he doesn’t need to say anything, though, because after a while Car smiles at him unprompted.

“You’re a good guy,” he says, “And I really like you.”

I love you, Ron thinks, but can’t say it. Not yet, anyway. Car looks like he knows what Ron’s thinking, though, so that’s okay. The warm feeling never really goes away these days, and it gets warmer when Car’s around, which is almost all the time. He feels it, and he knows what it is, and Car knows how he feels, so even if he can’t say it, yet, it’s okay, they’ve got time. It’s only March and there’s the rest of this year to finish. And as for next year, Winters already told him the school board is looking to make him a permanent teacher, not just an interim one. So that’s this year, and the next, and after that there’s a whole lifetime of school years. Summers, too, when they can spend every day together without any interruptions. He’s thinking of forever, because this situation may be new, but it’s real in a way he never even could have imagined before meeting Car. He thinks Car smiling at him every day for the rest of their lives and thinks, yes. They’ve got time.


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher!au featuring Dick as the principal, Nix as the head secretary who pines for him, Lip as the math teacher everyone loves, and Speirs as a badass English teacher with a crush.
> 
>  
> 
> Nix has big plans for the summer, Dick will probably get a sunburn, Carwood has many small plans that mean an awful lot to him, and Ron is apparently a snorer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it, the end of the road. I just want to say thanks to everyone who's stuck with it for all these months while I screwed around and didn't update. This is a small fandom, but I love it to death and you guys and all your wonderful comments are really what keep me going whenever my muse just does not want to cooperate. So thanks, and I hope you all enjoyed it <3

“So,” Nix says as he turns his end of the wooden table to fit it through the narrow doorway. “What are your plans for the summer?”

Lip, twisting the other end, smiles, pleased to be asked. “Not much. We’re just going to settle into the new apartment, mostly. You know how Ron gets when things change.”

Nix very much does, as a matter of fact, and it’s not a pretty sight. He’s glad for the students’ sake that Ron and Carwood are moving into this new place now instead of waiting until next year.

“Thank you, by the way,” Lip adds, as they get the table through the door and into the kitchen. “I’m not sure I’ve said, but thank you and Dick both for helping us move. It would have been pretty terrible, bringing all this stuff over from two separate apartments all by ourselves.”

“Oh, you’ve said,” Nix tells him, because he has, about a hundred times. “But it’s cool, you’re welcome.” Lip’s a great guy, really, so Nix is glad to help, and he knows Dick is, too. “We weren’t doing anything today, anyhow.” Well, strictly speaking, they were doing something, but there’s only so many times Dick will let him tap that, anyway, though only because he’s got strict rules about spending all day in bed; at night, that ass is fair game.

They get the table settled into place in the kitchen, then head back outside to Ron’s pick-up to grab the chairs.

“What are you doing this summer, anyway?” Lip asks, and Nix knows he’s actually interested, not just returning the question. One of his plans for the summer involves hanging out with these guys more often, double-dating or something, because they’re freaking awesome, more now that they’re together than they ever were alone, though mostly because when he’s alone, Ron really scares Nix. Not that Nix is going to tell Lip any of that, because, hello, how embarrassing. He does have plans he’s dying to spill, though, so he flashes Lip a grin and says, “I’m taking Dick to Bermuda.”

“Bermuda?” Lip repeats, surprised. “Really?”

“Really,” Nix confirms, and he’s so very proud of himself for the idea. He can’t wait to see Dick in nothing but a pair of swim trunks every day, dripping wet from swimming for hours in cerulean water. And of course, he’s really looking forward to peeling those short off him every night. He’s got a special secret plan, too, that involves finding a secluded strip of coast and convincing Dick to let him fuck him on the beach. He’s heard the sand gets everywhere, but that’s what blankets are for, after all.

“Cool,” Lip says. “You’d better pack sunblock, though. Dick doesn’t look like the type of guy who’d do well in the sun for long. Are you going just to go or is do you have special plans?”

“Nothing too special,” Nix tells him, turning grabbing a chair from the bed of the truck to hide his smile. “Just, you know, proposing.”

“Nix, wow,” Lip says and smiles at him. He comes over and forces Nix to set his chair back down so he can grab him into a hug. “I’m so happy for you guys. Does Dick know?”

“Not exactly,” Nix says. He thought the hug would be awkward, since they’re dudes and all, but it’s really kind of sweet. “We’ve talked about it, but he doesn’t when or how or anything.”

“Well, congratulations,” Lip says, and pulls away from the hug to pat him on the shoulder. “I hope it goes well for you.”

“It will,” Nix says, and he knows it’s true. Dick’s loved him for years and Nix, though he didn’t know it, has felt the same way for just as long. It’s not going to perfect, he knows, thought Dick’s pretty damn close, but honestly, he’s not asking for perfect. All he’s asking for is to spend the rest of his life in love with the best man he’s ever known. Everything else will sort itself out, he’s sure.

“And who knows,” he continues. “Maybe by the end of the summer you and Ron will be the ones helping us move. Into a house, even.”

“I didn’t realize you were in the market,” Lip says, still looking pleased as punch for him and Dick. “Got any place in mind?”

Nix thinks about red-headed babies, late breakfasts on Saturday mornings, family trips to the beach, and all those other things he can have now. “Sure do,” he says and grins.

 

Later that night, Carwood lies in their bed in their new apartment, relishing in the feeling of Ron’s arms wrapped around him from behind, their heads on the same pillow.

“Did you hear Nix’s news?” he asks, because he’s too excited for his friends to not want to talk about it. 

Ron just grunts sleepily, which Carwood takes as a no.

“Nix is taking Dick to Bermuda and proposing. They’re moving into a house together, too, by the end of summer, probably.”

“S’nice,” Ron says, muffled into the back of Carwood’s hair, and Car can tell he means it, even if he’s not very expressive about it. “Good for them.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Carwood says, happily.

It’s too soon to think of him and Ron getting married, he knows. This feels right, this thing between them, more than anything else he’s ever experienced, but it’s too soon to bring up marriage. They’ve got other things to think about, anyway, like settling in to the apartment and scoping out nearby parks to go running in, local restaurants to eat in. Carwood’s thinking of starting practices for Academic Bowl earlier this year, too, maybe getting together a few times during the summer, just to keep in practice. Then there’s summer school, the adult literacy program he volunteers for at the community center and the children’s story hour at the library every week. Ron’s expressed an interest in at least a few of the things Carwood’s involved in, and Car knows he’s also got plans to go golfing quite a bit. Heck, they might even make it to the beach once or twice, though of course, nowhere as far away as Bermuda. 

So, yeah, there are a lot of things to keep them both occupied until September. And then, once the school year starts again, Car will have his classes and Ron will have his, now that he’s been officially named the permanent English teacher by the school board. Carwood has a feeling the children will all be relieved, and not just because without Ron they might get another Dike. No, they all genuinely like Ron by this point, no matter how afraid they pretend to be of him at times. Carwood knows how they feel, because he genuinely likes Ron, too, loves him, even. 

“I’m glad I met you,” Carwood tells him, softly, but doesn’t expect an answer. Ron’s already snoring, anyway. It’s okay, though, he knows. And Carwood will tell him again tomorrow, just in case. And then, who knows, maybe they’ll walk down to the local pound, see what kind of dogs they have there. It’s not a proposal, not yet, but that’s fine. It’s special, what they have, because it’s theirs and really, that’s all Car needs in life.


End file.
